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Officials confirm second U.S. case of MERS virus

NEW YORK—Health officials confirmed a second U.S. case of a mysterious virus that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East.

The Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scheduled a news conference to discuss the case Monday afternoon.

The virus is MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. It is a respiratory illness that begins with flulike fever and cough but can lead to shortness of breath, pneumonia and death. A third of those who develop symptoms die from it.

Most cases have been in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. But earlier this month a first U.S. case was diagnosed in a man who traveled from Saudi Arabia to Indiana.